The Outdoor Gallery of the City of Gdansk is an art project for the Lower Town – the district of Gdansk where Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art is situated. This culture institution through the cooperation in the framework of a long-term revitalization plan supports the process of social and architectonic transformation of the neglected district. The project consists of two important elements: international competition aiming to create a permanent collection of works of art in urban space and a wide range of educational activities.
The conference organized by the ŁAŹNIA Centre for Contemporary Art was yet another event in the Art and the City series after July’s “Not another public art festival”. Summer is gone and so are our summertime actions – now it was the time to reflect upon them and summarize this experience as well as define and plan future projects under the public art programme.
Dolne Miasto of Changes. Art and the City Non-Festival
“If the container is a sign of change, then artistic activity in neglected or forgotten parts of the city will most frequently come before the approaching gentrification. LAZNIA, however, has never tried to avoid such dilemmas, consistently working with local communities within the space of the district. Art and animation have always been in its approach midwives who want to help the inhabitants of Dolne Miasto get through spatial and social transformations”.
Centre for Contemporary Art Laznia is located in a district which requires financial support as well as a complex educational input. The social issues made it necessary to reach for means and methods that could appeal to the local society. Education was integrated with the mechanisms of revitalisation. The workshops realised within the framework of The Outdoor Gallery of the City of Gdansk are conducted by renowned artists representing theatre, dance, music, visual arts, media, hand-crafts as well as by educators practicing alternative educational methods.
